Aditya Rawal on The Queen, his new play at Prithvi Festival and writing women beyond stereotypes

As The Queen premieres at the Prithvi Festival, writer Aditya Rawal and director Daniel D’Souza bring to stage a haunting story set in 1567 Banasvan. The play reimagines a forgotten slice of history through Queen Durga — a woman grappling with love, power, and erasure. Moving beyond archetypes of virtuous or scheming queens, Puja Sarup’s Durga emerges as a deeply human figure caught in the emotional and political tremors of her time.

Playwright Aditya Rawal opens up about creating Queen Durga

Inspired by Macbeth and Medea, and shaped by Aditya’s reflections on love and loss, The Queen explores the emotional cost of survival and the quiet forces — ambition, envy, desire — that reshape kingdoms. Produced by 72° East Productions, it features Danish Hussain / Mukul Chadda, Sharvari Deshpande, and Rohit Mehra / Dheer Hira in pivotal roles.

Indulge catches up with Aditya Rawal for a quick conversation on craft, truth and legacy.

Through Queen Durga, you seem to challenge how Indian history — and theatre — often portray women. She isn’t virtuous, scheming, or victimised, but deeply human and unpredictable. What was your process in creating a woman who holds power yet remains emotionally real?

To be honest, there wasn’t a fixed process — it was more of a mindset shift. There was a conscious attempt to move away from going with the first idea. You know, when you’re writing in a flow, putting down a scene or a line, the first thing that comes to your mind usually feels right. But when you take your time and really allow the characters to breathe, they begin to speak for themselves. That’s when they start to resemble real people.

Also, whether it’s a man or a woman, someone in a position of power or not, the goal as a writer is always to create three-dimensional characters. You have to be aware of when you’re slipping into a cliché — a line or action that feels familiar from something you’ve seen or heard before — and discard it unless it truly fits the character. The idea is to serve the truth of the person you’re writing.

You’ve mentioned that the relationship between Amar and Durga grew out of your own experience — that space where love fades but attachment lingers. When you turned that private emotion into a public narrative, how did you protect your truth while still serving the story?

You know, as writers, I feel we suck the life and blood out of our experiences and pour them onto the page. That’s inevitable. But the world of the play is so different — the details, the setting, the people — that very often, even if you’ve written someone who resembles a real person, when they read or watch it, they don’t recognise themselves. Everyone’s self-perception is completely different from how you see them. So, your truth is there, but it’s transformed by fiction.

You come from one of Indian theatre and cinema’s most respected acting legacies — your father Paresh Rawal and mother Swaroop Sampat — yet The Queen feels like a writer’s play: layered, political, and emotionally raw. How do you navigate carrying that legacy while carving your own creative space as a playwright?

You know, while being a writer helps you become a better actor and vice versa, these are two very different jobs. You take your writer’s hat off when you’re acting, and the actor’s hat off when you’re writing.

The idea of legacy honestly never really bothered me — and it bothers me less and less as time goes on. I’ve always been aware that I’m my own person, so I have to do my own thing.

Writing is what I’m formally trained in; most of my higher education has been in that field, while acting came through experience and a few short courses. Writing is something I genuinely enjoy — it’s where I feel most grounded.

And everything you mentioned — the play being layered, political, emotionally raw — those are exactly the spaces I want to explore. One always hopes one’s work reflects that complexity, so I’m glad it comes across. Now I’m just looking forward to staging The Queen and hoping people come, watch, and connect with it.

What: The Queen — written by Aditya Rawal, directed by Daniel D’Souza
Where: Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai
When: Thursday, 6th November — 8 PM / Friday, 7th November — 6 PM & 9 PM

(Written by Arundhuti Banerjee)

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